A Whiff Of Murder – Angela M Sanders (1)

If I can ease a lady’s mind, so much the better.” Burt and Teddy had already worked out their roles. Burt would be the protector and Teddy the fearful woman. She would have no problem playing her role. Hell, until a little over a year ago, her whole life had been theater. “If it weren’t for Lise,” Teddy said, “I wouldn’t be so concerned. But what if Dyann King was murdered?” “Nope,” Merrill said instantly. “Are you certain?”

Teddy said. “Lise is my boarder, and our house is on the hill, separate from the rest of the neighborhood. If anyone was after her …” As she let her words trail off, she looked into the distance, as if imagining the worst. It wasn’t a difficult expression to put on. Richard’s threat to sue Lise was no joke.

“I have a motherly feeling for the poor girl.” Merrill patted her knee. “Don’t you worry. This isn’t official, so don’t go spreading it around, but the medical examiner is preparing to rule her death as from natural causes.” “A heart attack, for instance?” Burt said. “She definitely had heart failure and some sort of seizure, to boot.” Teddy shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand.

“The detective—” “Signe Rasmussen,” Merrill said. “—hinted that it might have been poison.” “Nope,” Merrill repeated. “The medical examiner ran a tox screen for the usual suspects and found nothing.” “What do you mean by ‘the usual suspects’?” Teddy asked. “Recreational drugs, medication, the sort of things that do in ninety percent of folks who die from poisoning.” Leaving a clear ten percent unaccounted for, Teddy thought. “I suppose you tested the cup she drank from, too, and the Mayan ceremonial liqueur?”

Merrill chuckled. “She’s a smart one, that lady,” he said to Burt. Then, to Teddy, “We certainly did and found nothing but doctored booze. The toxicologist wagered it was Benedictine with cinnamon sticks.” “Could some other sort of poison have killed her?” Burt asked, echoing Teddy’s thoughts. “Look. I understand your concern, but there’s little to no violent crime in Astoria, and that’s how I like to keep it.” Merrill’s gaze strayed past them, toward the river, where a barge trundled upstream.

“I’m not saying law enforcement is unnecessary. We’ve got federal agents here looking into a case right now. But murder? Rare to vanishing.” “You’d say there’s no chance Dyann was poisoned,” Teddy said. “People drop dead from heart attacks all the time.” Merrill shook his head. “Nope. Poison didn’t kill her.”

Nope. His favorite word, Teddy thought. “Nope. It was a tragedy. Such an attractive lady, too. You know she was a runner-up for Miss Oregon?” “You don’t say?” Burt said.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by Kensington Publishing Corp. 900 Third Ave. New York, NY 10022 Copyright © 2026 by Angela M. Sanders All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Without limiting the author’s and publisher’s exclusive rights, any unauthorized use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited. All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotion, premiums, fund-raising, educational, or institutional use. Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created to fit specific needs.

For details, write or phone the office of the Kensington Special Sales Manager: Attn. Special Sales Department. Kensington Publishing Corp., 900 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Phone: 1-800-221-2647. KENSINGTON and the KENSINGTON COZIES teapot logo Reg. US Pat. & TM Off. Library of Congress Control Number: On file ISBN: 978-1-4967-5646-6 First Kensington Hardcover Edition: March 2026 ISBN: 978-1-4967-5648-0 (ebook) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is eucomply OU, Parnu mnt 139b-14, Apt 123 Tallinn, Berlin 11317, [email protected] 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Dedication Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Afterword 1kitap1.com/en In memory of Janeen Provo, a model of grace and kindness.

1kitap1.com/en CHAPTER 1 The customer hesitated near a display of oracle cards. With her parchment-white skin and equally pale, wispy hair, she might have been a phantom. But what really drew Lise’s attention was the scent of violets that wafted from her in airborne ribbons.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 26edf3c635cfa9c7
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,964,986 bytes (1.874 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781496756466, 9781496756480
• Pages: 257
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 403.24 minutes
• Total Words: 80,648
• Total Characters: 454,356
• Average Words per Page: 313.81
• Average Characters per Page: 1767.92

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